2016-02-20

Argentina and Bolivia united by "Che"

42 years after the death of Ernesto Guevara, representatives of the museums and institutions devoted to the memory of the Che of Argentina and Bolivia—supported by the National Secretary of Tourism (SECTUR) and the Ministry of Cultures and the Vice-Ministry of Tourism of Bolivia—formally agreed to link their circuits “The Roads of Che” and “The Itinerary of Che”.

Members of “The Roads of Che” recently traveled to the neighboring country to present the project (officially started in 2009) and go over the last roads travelled by the revolutionary leader.The presentation took place in the Argentine Embassy in La Paz on May 28. They explained the details of the circuit made up of Rosario City and the museums in Caraguatay, Alta Gracia and San Martín de los Andes, as well as the philosophy and purpose behind the program, which aims at covering the whole of Latin America.“The utopias of Che are part of our own utopias, that’s why we want to rescue the value of his legacy by creating a Latin American circuit of historic memories. We believe this has been a very meaningful moment for the consolidation of “The Roads of Che” and in particular for the union I represent (ATE, Association of Government Workers)”, stated Darío Fuentes, director of La Pastera, the Che Museum in San Martín de los Andes.The national representative Julia Perié, on behalf of the museum in Misiones, affirmed, “...we are very satisfied, as we have advanced in one of the original objectives, namely being in places as strong as La Higuera, the School and the Laundry. This objective of transcending is the first step toward getting to Cuba. In the future, the plan is to tighten the bonds between Argentina and Bolivia, as they are advancing this road with great efforts, and, after a long time living a democratic process, we finally see a commitment from the government to support projects of this kind”.Carina Chiuchich, Alta Gracia Secretary of Tourism, talked about the history of the Ernesto Che Guevara House-Museum, its importance, which has placed it as an icon of the city, and about the visit of the then president of Cuba, Fidel Castro, and the current president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, and its international impact, with more than a hundred thousand visitors a year.During the meeting, a joint work committee was created to spread the life and ideals of Che through the bi-national circuit, promote the museums of both countries and collaborate in the exchange of information, training and education.The Argentine representatives agreed to design a special area in their museums to exhibit a faithful copy of the last diary written by Che, which they received from counselor Danilo Sánchez as a present from the Cuban Embassy in Bolivia.Bolivia was represented by Marcos Peredo, chief of the Vice Ministry of Tourism Promotion Unit; Minister Jorge Gómez, Business attaché; minister Martín Recondo, cultural attaché of the Argentine Embassy, and other officials of the Embassy and the Ministry of Cultures.Other outstanding attendants were Loyola Guzmán, companion of Che during his incursion in Bolivia; Antonio Peredo, brother to Inti and Coco, ex-combatants with Che; and the historian Carlos Soria, one of the main investigators of Ernesto Guevara in Bolivia. Also in attendance were representatives of the Embassies of Egypt, Uruguay and Venezuela.The Argentine committee was made up of the national representative Julia Perié and Francisco Perié, on behalf of the government of Misiones and the Hogar Misionero del Che; Darío Fuentes, director of La Pastera, and Matías Estévez, one of his collaborators; Mario Bonfigli, mayor of Alta Gracia, representing the Ernesto Che Guevara House-Museum, as well as the secretaries of Tourism and Culture, Carina Chiuchich and María Inés Carignani, and Guido Faoro, member of the Friends of Culture Commission, all of them from Alta Gracia.